Hon. Abike Dabiri Erewa, Chairman/CEO, NIDCOM (R) with Chairman, Amb. (Dr.) Adamu Aliyu, leader of the LADI delegates
By Shola Akingboye – November 1, 2019
The Nigerians in the Diaspora have been described as a force to reckon in attracting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment and finances into the country by a non-governmental organisation, Link Africa Diaspora Initiative (LADI).
According to a press release made available to newsmen on Thursday by the office of the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), the group made the declaration while on a courtesy call on the pioneer Chairman of the Commission, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa,
Led by its Chairman, Amb. (Dr.) Adamu Aliyu; many more agenda of the group were tabled before Mrs. Dabiri Erewa, on the quest for a workable synergy with the commission in line with the operational focal point of the organization.
Aliyu maintained that it is with the proper coordination of remittances from abundant human resources of Nigerians in the Diaspora, that Nigeria would be on the path to greatness.
He said that the body, LADI aspires to be a leading platform for connecting the African diaspora with their countries of origin and residence, by, enabling and empowering the African diaspora to transform their transnational contributions to development.
Amb. Aliyu, therefore, commended the NIDCOM boss, for her brilliant strides in championing the cause of Nigerians in the Diaspora. He expressed the readiness of the Initiative to collaborate with NIDCOM in areas of data collection, increased remittances and other diaspora policy issues.
To fast track the proposed collaboration, a letter of partnership from LADI was presented to the CEO NIDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who equally lauds the delegation in appreciation of the group’s patriotic gesture that NIDCOM was selected by LADI for collaboration.
According to the statement, Hon. Dabiri agreed that trust, transparency, integrity, professionalism, and empathy, which are the core values of LADI, should be inculcated by every organisation and citizen of Nigeria.
She praised the members for launching the Initiative and stated that the group is a timely intervention and would be very useful in implementing the objectives of the Commission.
“I will like to commend you for LADI; it is very timely. It is very useful to us as a commission; because being a commission, we are open and willing to ideas, and partners to work with. Link Africa Diaspora Initiative is a major partner we would like to work with”, she said.
The NIDCOM boss who listed the efforts of the Commission since its creation said that the commission looks forward to working with the body, adding that the functions of LADI will add value to the NIDCOM’s mandate.
She assured the team that the new relations that will be forged with LADI, and shall be a strong partnership.
Dabiri-Erewa further revealed that the commission is embarking on series of projects which include communication strategy for effective feedback from the Diasporans as well as collaboration with other international agencies, such as the European Union and the International Organisation for Migration, to propose a diaspora mapping for credible data.
She was optimistic that the 9th National Assembly will make Diaspora voting a reality, while also stressing President Buhari’s determination to tackle insecurity, corruption, build infrastructure and a sustainable economy
She told the delegates that the second edition of Nigerians Diaspora Investment summit (NDIS) would hold from Nov. 6 and 7, in Abuja with several investors already indicating interest to participate.
The Link Africa Diaspora initiative (LADI) is a group that focuses on empowering the African Diaspora through its collaboration with key African government officials, business developers, finance agencies, entrepreneurs, as well as, organisations and individuals enthusiastic in Africa’s development.
Its corporate strategies are built on three pillars: Diaspora Improvement, Diaspora Empowerment and Resource Mobilisation.
Other executive members of the Initiative in attendance are; Hon. Ambrose Feese, Dr. Waheed Olagunju and Mr. Ugbadigbo Okonkwo , who also are directors of the Initiative.
